when talking on the phone with Brunei Minister of Foreign Affairs II Dato Erywan Pehin Yusof on January 19.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh (Photo: VNA)

The Brunei minister congratulated Vietnam for excellently fulfilling its term as Chair of ASEAN in 2020, especially leading the bloc to overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges.

He shared the directions and priorities during the year Brunei serves as Chair of ASEAN in 2021 under the theme “We Care, We Prepare, We Prosper”, including initiatives on COVID-19 response and post-pandemic recovery which were approved in 2020, the building of a vision for ASEAN after 2025, promoting multilateral cooperation and a rule-based regional order, and people-oriented cooperative ideas.

He affirmed that those priorities and initiatives are developed based on the achievements that ASEAN has reaped in previous years, particularly in 2020 under the Chair of Vietnam.

The two ministers reached consensus that Vietnam and Brunei should intensify coordination to strengthen intra-bloc solidarity and unity, and enhance the bloc’s resilience and central role for peace, security and prosperity in the region, in the context of complicated developments in the world and tremendous challenges and consequences brought by the COVID-19 pandemic./.VNA